The last couple of weeks have shown (1) that top triathletes can earn serious money and (2) triathlon excellence can receive royal recognition. In our semi-regular round up of triathlon news from around the web we take a look at these two stories as well as the ETU cross triathlon championships and the outcome of Tri Grand Prix -  Zarautz, Spain.

Tim Don of Great Britain and Australian Emma Snowsill earned more than just the title of Hy-vee Elite Cup Champions on the 13^th June. The prize money for the race totaled one million dollars.

Just four seconds separated Don, who finished first in 1:50:20, from New Zealander Gemmell who came in second. This slim margin was enough to secure Don the $200k top prize. Emma Snowsill also took home a $200k prize, finishing in 01:59:35, 16 seconds ahead of fellow Australian Emma Moffatt.

Source: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/news/article.php?id=10708

This year the ETU Cross Triathlon Championships featured a 1000m bone-chilling swim in a 13°C lake, a slippery off-road 25km mountain bike ride and a grueling 7.5km run, each with two hills, which truly tested the triathletes who travelled to Myjava, Slovakia for the contest. Warm weather on the day apparently made the race even tougher, but with 10,000 Euros of prize money on the cards, there was more than just pride at stake.

Great Britain brought home three age group champions in the shape of Stuart Lumb in the 65-69 category, Lucy Cash won the 30-34 age group and Sian Turner came first overall in the women’s age group race, becoming the 25-29 champion in the process.

First place in the elite women’s race went to Carina Wasle of Austria in 02.53.09, 1 minute and 1 second ahead of Maud Golsteyn of the Netherlands. The third podium place was taken by Judy Van Der Berg, also of the Netherlands, in 03:07:36.

The men’s elite race was won by Franky Batelier of France, who took the lead during the bike leg and held it to the finish in 02:19:42, almost 5 minutes in front of Victor Manuel Del Corral Morales of Spain. Tomas Jurkovic of Slovakia came in third racing on home soil.

Source: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/news/article.php?id=10721

Chrissie Wellington became a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her outstanding sporting career. A year working and training in Nepal in 2005 was perhaps the catalyst that propelled Chrissie from training on the city streets with Birmingham Athletics and Triathlon Club, to the fastest in her age group at the ITU Lausanne Age Group World Championships. Chrissie turned elite in 2007, and not only became the first Brit to win at the Kona Ironman Championships in Hawaii, but returned to win it twice more and make history, breaking a 17 year old course record in 2009.

Source: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/news/article.php?id=10706

Eneko Llanos, Clemente Alonso and Mikel Elgezabel, took all three podium places for Spain in the Spanish leg of the Tri Grand Prix. All three men completed the course in under four hours. Llanos the winner, finished in 3:58:14, 28 seconds ahead of Alonso and 1 minute 29 seconds ahead of Elgezabel. In the women’s race, Catriona Morrison of Great Britain finished first in 04:18:25 followed by fellow national Leanda Cave. Australian, Miranda Carfrae, took third place. The course featured a beach mass start and a 2.5km sea swim, followed by an arduous 82km bike course that included a 25% incline, and finally a 20km road run. The winners shared a 40,000 Euro prize purse.

Source: http://www.trigrandprix.com/events/trigrandprix-basque-country-2010-results/

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